Mr.E Fudd needs to work on his “ponunsciation.’ Initially refers to “CARESS OF STEEL” AS “CAREST.” Whenever “Elmer” has the album shown quickly on the screen, uses proper pronunciation. “CARESS.” Relieved that he is @ least able to phonetically pronounce w/ help of a “ visual aid -in this case the album cover shown, to my horror the “FUDDSTER” w/o a visual aid as was the album cover earlier, I’m assuming, he & the “rabbit ,CAREST, pops out of the hole to again add to the embarrassment of this poor review once again. On a lighter note, I will agree 100% w/ his # 1 choice. BY FAR , HEMISPHERES IS MY #1 AS WELL ! Just goes to show that when it comes to a ENTHUSIAST RUSH FAN, there is ALWAYS GREATNESS! We need to live accordingly, love GOD W/ALL OUR HEARTS,MINDS, & SOULS. We also need o live our lives according to the GOLDEN RULE! Both attributes, I believe, are as important as the other. A life lived with both ,I feel is beyond description ! But remember, “ QUICK TO JUDGE QUICK TO ANGER SLOW TO UNDERSTAND IGNORANCE AND PREJUDICE AND FEAR WALK HAND IN HAND.”
It’s nice to see so many people being respectful to each other, in spite of so many differing opinions about their discography. Rush and their fans = class! Proud to be a Rush fan!
Yup. It's an excellent progrock album with a hard rock edge as well (even though some mellow parts in there). IMHO, the "synth-pop" installment of their career is damn near traitorous. I prefer, for the most part, the first half of their discography. Harder, more progrocky. Is progracky actually a word? Well you get the point.
starts off with a right ripping history lesson that 'll leave yer head in a basket and finishes with a careening mystery obsession even neil forgot how to play over time. thematically/conceptually/sonically as uneven as bermuda turbulence. ,lacks persistance of vision, i mean we go from the french revolution 's trenchant message of all corrupting power , then to a wtf meditation on hair loss then a prog stars on 45 mash up with a nod to king crimson's in the court of the ......crust of steel might be more apt. lakeside park,bastille day and the 2nd 3rd movement of ...'neuromancer. make for a cozy 15 minute ep for me. !?
Yeah, they're THAT good, least best is about as bad (and I still cringe using that word) as they ever got. Great, great band, gonna miss 'em so much, but I've a lifetime of brilliant memories to enjoy and music to look forward to again and again. What a legacy !
Hemispheres is an album you just can't stop listening to it or skip over anything as soon as it begins. The whole album feels like one giant song. I could listen to it three times in a row and not be bored.
Bryton Cherrier I feel the same. I also think that given the fact Rush released tons of albums featuring impressive instrumentals, Hemispheres is their tightest, sharpest, and most impressive exhibition of those skills. Anyone who hears it should pay special attention to the bass throughout. It’s just incredible, and once I started to give it extra attention, the songs were even better to me. Listen to Geddy’s playing during Circumstances. Some of the best rock bass ever recorded.
Agreed. The opening lyrics of Natural Science are some of the most beautiful you will ever hear. But them I'm a scientist and a veterinarian so they may resonate with me more than with most people.
@@claudeciancio1933 Yeah, after Terry Brown left the production of the albums took a nosedive. Many of those 80s tracks are miserable on the album and phenomenal live (Mystic Rhythms, The Pass, and Distant Early Warning, especially).
@@claudeciancio1933 Yeah i agree. The production on Rush's albums after Terry Brown left range from mediocre to just downright terrible. Thank god for the live performances!
This is exactly right. The problem with the album is that you're so excited to get to Necromancer and Fountain of Lamneth that everything seems better on the way. (Although, I've always liked Bastille Day.) If you were kind of a quasi-metalhead/Sabbath Fan, hard-rock fan when this came out, and you hadn't discovered prog rock yet, then those two songs were paradigm shifters. Who did songs about "necromancers"?? And so the strength and anticipation of those songs. I think I'm going blind is just go0ofy and Lakeside Park is definitely not the metal-fan pleasure. It's always a strange/amusing thing with (later?) Rush fans; they think 2112 is their first full-side suite. Nope! May your narpets thrive.
in 1981 I was coming home from a night of drinking, took a short cut down a dirt road, and was amazed at what I think was a chain lightning display on the far side of a cow pasture, spreading out horizontally across the sky. I parked my 69 Mach I in the middle of the road, got out and laid on the windshield, and listened to Cygnus X1. I see the Gods in battle rage on high Thunderbolts across the sky I cannot move, I cannot hide I feel a silent scream begin inside. One of my very best memories.
Hold Your Fire has Open Secrets and Force Ten. Open Secrets solo is one of Alex’s most tender and beautiful. Both songs are Rush standouts in my opinion. Presto seems to me to be more of that transitional album.
Great list. I agree with most of it. You're pretty young. That gives you the advantage of hearing a band's back catalog completely objectively and point out what you think is their most enduring works and their biggest failed experiments. When they were the Rushiest and when they were the least Rushiest. The downside is that you may not hear those records in their proper historical context- what music was "in" at the time and what was the latest and greatest technology at the time. For example, by 1985, MIDI was the newest thing and sequencers were a shiny new toy and Geddy was obviously itching to play around with them. Hence, "Power Windows". The same goes for the Simmons Drums on Grace Under Pressure. Personally, I loved the 80's synth records. Signals, GUP, Power Windows, Hold Your Fire. I was a teen when those came out and compared to what was mainstream at the time (Phil Collins, Huey Lewis, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Survivor, etc) they were brilliant statements of sticking to the mainstream. And, they were the "soundtrack of my life" at the time. By contrast, I hated most of the 90's records when they were released. They sounded like relics of a previous decade. Still doing 80s things like putting digital reverb on the drums and chorus effect on distortion. As a musician in my early 20s during the grunge years, admitting to liking Rush was incredibly uncool. And rightfully so. If a flannel-shirted, soul-patched grunge rocker said that Rush was lame, it isn't as if I could put on "Dreamline" or "Nobody's Hero" as exclaim "Oh, yeah? Well, listen to THIS". It's funny, but various people in those bands that were so popular at the time such as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails - they have all recently come out and said how important Rush was to them as budding musicians. That is certainly vindication for us lifelong fans.
This is going to be incredibly subjective because there are so many different kinds of Rush fans. My favorites are their 80s albums (with Hold Your Fire being my all-time favorite) but I know not everyone will agree with me. The fans of the other eras are just as hardcore fans as I am.
1- 2112 2- fly by night 3- Rush 4- caress of steel 5- permanent waves 6-moving pictures 7- farewell to kings 8- hemispheres 9- signals 10- grace under pressure Songs 1- lakeside 2- lessons 3- subdivisions 4- circumstances 5- working man 6- you don’t get something 7- spirit 8- free will 9- Red barchetta 10- limelight 11- closer to the 💜
Have been a Rush fan for 12 years now. Yes was really loving their 70's, 80's and early 90's music especially. But decided to not finish watching this because, as with just about any description of music from the 1980's, the word "cheese" came up. Been thinking about that word lately. And its meaning. It refers to something that's overly sentimental, cheap, unpleasant and blatantly inauthentic. During the 80's, even a synthesizer had to be played by a human being. Today I hear how much music has become so bland due to years of people throwing the word "cheese" around so loosely? Indie rockers are actually returning to an 80's style sound for a MORE "authentic" sound. Have put up and shut up with the terms "80's music" and "cheese" being used interchangeably. This was a great idea to review Rush albums from bad to worse, and it just just opinion for sure. Just choosing not to entertain the "cheese" notion about 80's music any longer Note Reviews. It was a fallacy during the grunge era of the 90's and early 2000's. And has proven so with that direction indie rock has taken. By the way? Hold Your Fire, Power Windows and Grace Under Pressure were some of the most musically forward thinking albums Rush ever did. Dare say you might want to give them another listen. Especially in light of the current 80's oriented direction of modern indie rock.
I think your commentary here has touched upon a larger problem in music critique. Nice job articulating it. It adresses the "labels" people feel the need to attach to certain eras, and genres....and it's really an attempt to diminish it
@@dusty3913 thank you! Didn't want to sound hostile towards Notes Reviews. Do celebrate any notions at well rounded critical assessment. Just didn't think that referring to music as "cheesy" was...particularly well rounded. So endeavored to make my response dignified and intelligent.
@@Andregrindle I wouldn't put any money on that self-absorbed pretence of your reply being "intelligent". What is evident is your naivety regards the term. Firstly, regards the term "cheesy" as a description, it does exist. Secondly, everybody and their dog who was around at that time - and you very definitely were not, with your all of 12 years of being a fan-boy - fully understands the context and connotations. You seemingly don't. We are talking about really bad synth sounds over-riding the expected application of musicianship whilst using proper instruments. Not that synths should not be regarded as such, but all that bar-chord - block-chord synth usage was a cop out. Most of us around at the time regarded that as putrid. You wouldn't know that because the knob-jocks on Rawk-FM radio etc., never ever diss anything. Rush produced a whole plethora of total garbage, year-in, year-out. They ended up sounding like feckin' Starship, ferchrissakes. Take your attention over to the UK. You'll be far better served.
@Jay Richards You may be right, I certainly had no idea when I got into them at first. I'd venture though that equally importantly, he's a young reviewer who evidently LOVES Rush, and that fills me with hope for appreciation of talented contemporary music :-) I'm seeing kids of 16 and less getting in to them even now, and I was 16 when Moving Pictures came out ! We've got to love how many generations of good music fans are seriously involved followers and appreciate them.
Call out for direction, and there's no one there to steer. Shout out for salvation, but there's no one there to hear. Cry out supplication, for the maelstrom is near. Scream out desperation, but no one cares to hear. The lyrics to my life. Caress of Steel is a masterpiece.
Appreciate you recognizing " Clockwork Angels " as a decent album. It's a very good comeback album and a great way to finish their long run. I think " Headlong Flight " is absolutely incredible !!
Favorite 20 Rush Songs: 1) 2112 Overture 2) Passage to Bangkok 3) Lakeside Park 4) Fly By Night 5) Closer to the Heart 6) Bastille Day 7) Xanadu 8) Entre Nous 9) Madrigal 10) Farewell to Kings 11) Cygnus X-1 12) The Twilight Zone 13) Tears 14) Cinderella Man 15) Cygnus X-1 book 2 16) Circumstances 17) Lessons 18) Anthem 19) Something for Nothing 20) The Necromancer
1. Signals 2. Power Windows 3. Moving Pictures 4. 2112 5. Hemispheres 6. Permanent Waves 7. A Farewell to Kings 8. Grace Under Pressure 9. Counterparts 10. Clockwork Angels 11. Fly By Night 12. Snakes and Arrows 13. Hold Your Fire 14. Presto 15. Caress of Steel 16. Roll the Bones 17. Rush 18. Vapor Trails 19. Test for Echo
I haven't heard all of the albums but I love 'Power Windows' ; good to see that you also rate it very highly . I did own ''Vapour Trails' for a brief period before binning it !
I agree I never get sick of listening to signals. Very good production quality with a lighter mix of sensitizers that doesn’t overwhelm the album. Niels drums have dynamics and punch unlike grace under pressure which was poorly produced after losing Terry Brown.. Much better production quality than any of the later records In the late 80s and 90s throughout the 2000s except for snakes and arrows.
My rough list... each album could move up +1/-1 depending on my mood... but here goes: 1. A Farewell to Kings (My personal favorite album of all time) 2. Hemispheres 3. Moving Pictures (I prioritized my two favorite albums, but I'd probably put this at #1 if we're ranking strictly by "best") 4. 2112 5. Permanent Waves 6. Signals 7. Clockwork Angels 8. Grace Under Pressure 9. Counterparts 10. Power Windows 11. Fly By Night 12. Caress of Steel 13. Vapor Trails (2013 Mix, the original 02 mix is unlistenable) 14. Rush (Self-Titled debut) 15. Snakes and Arrows 16. Roll the Bones 17. Test for Echo 18. Presto 19. Hold Your Fire I absolutely agree with you that Rush have no "bad" albums (even the cover's EP they put out I didn't put on my list).. The bottom 3 albums are the only ones i'd put in the "meh" category, but everything above that are albums that have more material that I like than dislike and are at least "good" in my book...
Good list except for clockwork is god awful. Horrible production quality blaring compressed noise. Unacceptable. Signals is about work should be top five much better production quality listen to Neil’s drums they sound so much more dynamic than the crap on clockwork Blarring muck . Grace is a good records but the production quality lacks Niels drum sound dead, etched screechy vocals and guitars and lack of dynamics. Ironically power windows which came one year after that had much better production quality but lacked the material of grace.
This is at least closer to my own rankings, with Farewell To Kings firmly 1st, and Presto/HoldYourFire last. Fly By Night might move up some, Snakes & Arrows definitely moves up, displacing Clockwork Angels to mid pack. Also, I much prefer Test For Echo to Roll The Bones. Every Rush album has merit, of course. ;-)
He should try and rank all the Zappa albums up until his death. That wouldn't be too bad but literally everything he's done even posthomous ones? Man that's a lot of albums!
Signals is definitely top 3 for me. Songs like analog kid and digital man always slap. One of my top three rush songs “losing it” is on signals and is this somber slow burner and one of the most unique songs rush has ever wrote
Why do so many people hate Caress of Steel? It flopped on release, nearly killed the band, the industry hated it, the band hates it, etc., but it's an amazing album. IMO it's as good as 2112. People really need to give Caress another listen.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! I consider A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres to be one piece: Rush's White Album. Not only because of the Cygnus X-1 connection or the latter's title, but they work so well as one journey.
Here’s my list 1. Grace Under Pressure 2. Power Windows 3. Permeant Waves 4. Moving Pictures 5. Signals 6. Clockwork Angles 7. Hold Your Fire 8. Hemispheres 9. A Farewell To Kings 10. Counterparts 11. 2112 12. Roll The Bones 13. Fly By Night 14. Vapor Trails 15. Snakes & Arrows 16. Presto 17. Test For Echo 18. S/T 19. Caress Of Steel (I really love all their albums expect for Caress Of Steel it’s boring outside of some good stuff on the first side)
how could you possibly put 'caress of steel' so low...it's one of their best albums...and p.s...you forgot to mention 'bastille day' which is also a great track from that classic piece of vinyl...
Oh man, this list was rough until I got to like the top 5 only because my version is a bit different. 19 - Hold Your Fire 18 - Power Windows 17 - Roll the Bones 16 - Clockwork Angels 15 - Rush 14 - Presto 13 - Counterparts 12 - Snakes and Arrows 11 - Caress of Steel 10 - Vapor Trails 9 - Test for Echo 8 - 2112 (Although 2112 the song is one of my favorite Rush tracks of all-time) 7 - Signals 6 - Grace Under Pressure 5 - Fly By Night 4 - A Farewell to Kings 3 - Moving Pictures 2 - Permanent Waves 1 - Hemispheres
My order: 20: Caress of Steel 19: Power Windows 18: Feedback 17: Presto 16: Snakes and Arrows 15: Roll the Bones 14: Hold Your Fire 13: Grace Under Pressure 12: Signals 11: Rush 10: Fly By Night 9: Test For Echo 8: Permanent Waves 7: Counterparts 6: A Farewell to Kings 5: 2112 4: Vapor Trails Remixed 3: Clockwork Angels 2: Moving Pictures 1: Hemispheres
38 year Hardcore Rush fan here. Its all subjective #1 Permanent Waves #2 Hemispheres #3 Moving Pictures #4 Farewell to Kings #5 2112 #6 Fly By Night #7 Grace Under Pressure #8 Signals #9 Rush #10 Caress of Steel #11 Counterparts #12 Vapor trails #13 Snakes and Arrows #14 Clockwork Angels #15 Hold Your Fire #16 Power Windows #17 Test For Echo #18 Presto #19 Roll the Bones
1. Hemispheres 2. Permanent Waves 3. A Farewell to Kings 4. Moving Pictures 5. 2112 6. Grace Under Pressure 7. Fly By Night 8. Signals 9. Rush 10. Clockwork Angels 11. Caress Of Steel (I LOVE Bastille Day & Fountain of Lamneth) 12. Vapor Trails 13. Snake & Arrows 14. Hold Your Fire 15. Power Windows 16. Test For Echo 17. Counterparts 18. Roll The Bones 19. Hold Your Fire
@@daneng3641 Shit, sorry! I don't know why I did that!! They're the albums I listen to the least and I completely forgot about Presto when listening them and forgot that I put HYF last. TBH, those bottom 5 albums could trade places and it wouldn't matter too much to me!
Every single Rush fan has strong opinions on what's best and worst- including a guy who unironically wrote that Rush was never the same after John Rutsy left the band. However, "Signals" is the peak in my opinion, front to back- with Moving Pictures and Grace Under Pressure in the 2 and 3 slots. Where I think Rush went off the rails a bit was to allow outside musicians into the mix which happened on Power Windows and beyond in places- specifically additional keyboards. This doesn't apply to guest musicians such as Hugh Syme (different strings) or Ben Mink (Losing It) prior to that, which are brilliant cameos. I'm talking about just bringing in a hired hand to try to make things better overall from the keys standpoint, which just didn't.
1- Hemispheres 2- Moving Pictures 3- A Farewell to Kings 4- 2112 5- Fly by Night 6- Permanent Waves 7- Signals 8- Snakes and Arrows 9- Roll the Bones 10- Caress of Steel 11- Clockwork Angels 12- Grace Under Pressure 13- Rush 14- Power Windows 15- Hold Your Fire 16- Vapor Trails 17- Presto 18- Counterparts 19- Test for Echo
Here is mine (best to worst) Permanent Waves Hemispheres Grace Under Pressure Moving Pictures Signals Presto (I rank this one high because it was my first Rush album so nostalgic) Farewell to Kings Counterparts Roll the Bones Test for Echo 2112 Fly by Night Hold Your Fire Power Windows (to be fair I haven't heard a lot of songs other than The Big Money, Marathon, Mystic Rhythms) Snakes & Arrows Vapor Trails Rush first album Caress of Steel Clockwork Angels Some of the ones at the end of the list I don't listen to as much so the order may change a bit. I've also never heard the remixed Vapor Trails so improved production might move it up the list a bit.
You sound like a wine taster using vague, meaningless phrases trying to explain why one bottle of wine is better than another. @34:14 "Natural Science goes off the map with no real rhyme or reason; it just kinda... leaves and doesn't really come back." What does that even mean?
I don’t think of Grace Under Pressure as a "synth wave" album. Certainly, coming off of Signals they were adding more and more synths, but for me there is still a fine balance. The PPG Wave in particular adds new and interesting textures against Alex's guitar sound. For me it’s a good rock album. In my estimation the synth overload started with Power Windows. Also, I think Signals is a great album, I’d put it higher. I disagree about the material. I think Signals is full of great songs.
Grace is sharp as a razor. After all these years, I still get chills. It ages well, it's like wine! In my private ranking it is definitely in the top five.
Wow, Hold Your Fire being last hurts, thats in my top 6 for sure. I'd say my list goes Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Moving Pictures, Power Windows, Presto, then Hold Your Fire. After would be Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, and then the others. I stopped here because those top 8 are all really close to each other and basically interchangeable top to bottom. After would most likely be Farewell to Kings, 2112, Fly By Night, Roll the Bones, but even Clockwork Angels, Caress of Steel, Test For Echo, and so on are weaker and the ones I didn't mention pretty much suck to me.
@@oldsrocket8841lt was just a mix up from what they'd done before. It was their softer side with the synth era, two styles that weren't the most popular with fans. But I think their songs were amazing, although it wad the period when Alex just played a lot of chords on guitar and didn't drive the songs as much. Geddy drove with bass a lot. Still, amazing album that I adore
You’re my kind of Rush fan 😁 I won’t list em all, but my top 5 are: 5) Power Windows 4) Permanent Waves 3) Grace Under Pressure 2) Moving Pics 1) Signals
Yes, Counterparts is a pretty dire album, and for me the reasons are that they pretty much avoided any of their signature tricky instrumental breaks (save for one instrumental), therefore the songs are WAY too long to be just verses and choruses repeated over and over with nothing interesting going on. Then when you add their new cluttered sound with multi-tracked guitars and basses, "Geddy choirs" and his new "flamenco bass" technique, you have no breathing room between instruments thus the songs lack the dynamics of the best Rush albums. Counterparts is a drink coaster for me.
T4E was my favorite Rush album post Power Windows, until Clockwork Angels came along. I rate it maybe a 3 - 3.5 on a scale of 1 to 5, doesn't rank among their best for me but I like it SO much better than the 3 albums that preceded it.
I gladly agree with you: A farewell to Kings and Hemispheres make the best combo and are pretty much my top albums as well. I don't agree with everything in the list, of course. I would probably put Signals, Grace Under Pressure and Caress of Steel higher on the list for me. Great video overall!
Great video :-) I was surprised to see that you put Hold Your Fire in last place. It probably wouldn't crack my top 10, but quite a few (Presto...) are much worse in my opinion. My top 4, in no particular order, are Grace Under Pressure, Moving Pictures, Hemispheres, and A Farewell to Kings, with Permanent Waves and Signals jostling for 5th place. To me those six albums (in almost as many years!) between A Farewell to Kings and Grace Under Pressure are pure gold. But I also absolutely love Counter Parts -- another one I was surprised to see you place at the bottom.
Oh hey, a Rush Worst to Best!! I figured you're still trying to get through their entire disco- *sees it's over 40 minutes* Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy is this gonna be quite the video lol
I gotta say I definitely love your analysis of each album. I totally respect your opinions on some of these albums and just like every one else, my list is WAY different than yours lol. I have a little bias too because Rush is my favorite band of all time, and quite honestly I could probably listen to every single album and never get tired of them, even though some are weaker than others. But I think we can all agree... like you said in the beginning, Rush never had a single BAD album in their career. So I totally respect your opinions, appreciate the personal opinions in there too, love the video and can not wait for the next one!
It was used to complement their music up to Moving Pictures. After that, it became a centrepiece starting with Signals and ending with Roll the Bones. That's why.
@@jbblade5247 Sorry Joe, this is not a dis on you.. people have been complaining about the so called Rush "synth era" since time immemorial.. When were they not a synth band? since synthesizers were invented.. They pioneered Midi for God's sake.. I know they threw in the towel on it after so much criticism in the 90's but they produced so many great albums in the 1980's.. So now, in this time of 80's nostalgia I still don't understand this.. sorry.
Finally you got around to making this list and man what a list this was. I disagreed with 50% list so most of it until we hit the 6th spot but i still respect your opinion. I love that with Rush, since they have such a huge catalog, they way people rank their albums all depend on like you said their age and how it affected them. I can say with confidence that Rush is probably one of my top 3 favourite bands of all time. All of their albums while some are weaker than others bring something interesting to the table and i love how much the band has changed over the years. Starting as a hard rock band then 'progressing' into a full-blown prog rock band which then led into them becoming more new wave and synth-rock etc. etc. While i thought some of your arguments were a bit repetetive (a lot of talk about length, not enough highlights etc.) i still thought you did a fantastic job with this list and it was definitely worth waiting for. Oh and pls do King Crimson next. I know you want to;)
Oh and also my ranking: (this is a tough one) 19. Test For Echo 18. Roll the Bones 17. Snakes and Arrows 16. Rush 15. Hold Your Fire 14. Presto 13. Counterparts 12. Vapor Trails 11. 2112 (gonna get a lot of flak for this) 10. Fly By Night 9. Signals 8. Clockwork Angels 7. Caress of Steel 6. Grace Under Pressure 5. Power Windows (such an underrated gem of an album) 4. Moving Pictures 3. Permanet Waves 2. A Farewell to Kings 1. Hemispheres (one of my favourite albums of all time) This will probably change over time since i haven't listened to all their discography in a long long time
A co-worker of mine got me into Rush. I've listened to their debut thru Power Windows and I can't say there's one I dislike. Still gotta listen to the rest. My favorite I'd say is Permenant Waves.
Hold Your Fire is super underrated in my view. It was one of those albums I looked at the cover and said to myself "I have a feeling I'm going to love this." And yeah, I was right. The mellow and atmospheric sound is so unique to this album. Everyone focuses on Tai Shan and thinks the lyrics are terrible, but most of the other songs have some of the greatest lyrics ever penned by Neil, in my view of course.
I’ve been a big Rush fan for quite a few years, but I have to say, I feel like I’m still discovering their music all the time. I feel like I’m still falling in love with their music. And you know, a few years ago I might have agreed with you more. But the more I listen to Rush, the more I realise that every track on Signals is an absolute banger, Counterparts is both a return to form but with all the lessons learned in the synth period about song writing and structuring, and Clockwork Angels is probably their finest album they ever created. Their music is deep, dense and intricate, and I think you have to let a lot of it really grow on you before you fully appreciate it. Subdivisions and New World Man are the singles that still get radio play, so their increased familiarity probably makes them stand out more, until the dynamic contrast of Analog Kid really sits in, or the Reggae-infused rhythms of Digital Man get you grooving, or the passion and melancholy of Losing It hit a soft spot. I fell in love with every song on that album over time. I could go on and on, cause I could talk passionately about all their songs, but you get the idea, I hope.
I think everyone’s list will vary due to the overall length of their career. There is a ton of material, so I think it will depend on not only the listener’s age, but when they were first introduced to the band.
I agree with you. Being older and attending my first concert prior to them having an album out and the type of music I love from that period really shows through on my list. Permanent Waves nearly killed me as a fan, Moving Pictures brought me back and Signals killed it. Rush and Max Webster are the two bands I have seen the most in my life. Seen each dozens of times but never since attending the Permanent Waves concert prior to it being released.
I’m a pretty big fan of Rush’s synth phase, I think everything but Thia Shan and High Water are great songs. My personally number 19 would either be Roll the Bones or Vapor Trails. Vapor Trails is a sonic mess and songs like Freeze and Stars Shine Down don’t make up for it. Roll the Bones is just out of place in 1991, Dreamliner is an amazing song but most of the other tunes don’t do it for me.
"Hold Your Fire" gets a bonus point for Aimee Mann. Does anyone know the back story on her involvement in "Time Stand Still"? Always wondered if it was one of those "she was in the next studio and we needed a backing vocal" stories. She even made it into the music video.
Great video! Agree that Rush don't really have a truly bad album. Although I guess I'm an outlier and I rank Caress of Steel very highly. I love that album.
I agree. Hemispheres is my favorite Rush album. I don’t think their musicianship was ever sharper or more impressive. Insanely well written album. And the secret weapon for me throughout is the bass. It is unreal from start to finish.
You’re both Wrong. Grace has very good material but the production quality was awful, Neil’s drums sounded dead screechy guitars and siblings in the vocals make this recording difficult to listen to. Snakes and arrows lives has a few tracks off this record that sound much better than the studio as the production is higher quality on this live record.
@@fendergibs9098 There's a couple of releases of G/P, one of them was not particularly good. I believe the currently available CD release is equal to the original.
Solid video and album ranking. I do have a couple issues on how you ranked some albums to their spots but overall I thought it was a pretty fair list. I won't get into the nitty gritty on what I really think of your list because everyone has their own varying tastes for a band's entire history. You like what you like. Been a Rush fan for years and everything they've put out brings me a bundle of joy (even some of the bad albums there's a gem or two). -- Here's my ranking of Rush albums best to worst: Permanent Waves Moving Pictures Power Windows A Farewell To Kings Hemispheres Grace Under Pressure Clockwork Angels Snakes & Arrows 2112 Feedback EP Fly By Night Rush Signals Hold Your Fire Roll The Bones Counterparts Presto Caress Of Steel Vapor Trails Test For Echo
I got into Rush in 1978 when I first heard 2112 and been hooked ever since. Agree pretty much with your order with a few minor differences - I'd put Signals at 3 as the live tracks from his album are so powerful and it brings back some fond memories. I saw them live for the first time with their Hemispheres tour, then in 80 or 81 at Bingley Hall in Stafford, UK which is an agricultural show arena - one big cowshed really. There must have been 7,000 inside (about 2,000 more than it could handle). Anyway, they kicked off with 2112 and literally nearly brought the roof down with the flash bombs at the end. Ah the memories... there'll never be another band like Rush.
Don't take this the wrong way mate, but I don't think you understand their albums or songs at all; I would recommend reading some of the lyrics to fully appreciate them before rushing to judge them in this fairly shallow way... For example saying you don't like Power WIndows because it sounds like 80's cheese.... It was recorded in the 80's... what else is it going to sound like; if you compared it to pop/rock music at the time, you would realise it was actually a very sophisticated album, musically and thematically. Each song deals with a different type of 'Power'. In addition, although it had the veneer of 80's production the music is technically impeccable, whilst still rocking, oh and the things the songs are about are still relevant today.... Okay that's one of their albums that you dismissed as being 'cheesy'... Personally I think ranking 'Albums' is rather redundant really as we all have different tastes and moods; but I would strongly recommend you dig a little deeper before dismissing so many of their albums. "So much style without substance, So much stuff without style, It's hard to recognize the real thing, It comes along once in a while, Like a rare and precious metal beneath a ton of rock, It takes some time and trouble to separate from the stock, You sometimes have to listen to a lot of useless talk...' - Grand Designs - Power Windows, :)
Agreed with what you said about Power Windows. While it is undeniably 80s, the music and lyrics were far more complex and sophisticated than most 80s music at the time (specifically the pop side of things). The album actually reminds me a lot of A-Ha with it being 80s pop but with more complex arrangements and introspective lyrics if you get what i mean.
Perhaps it's party because this is when I discovered the band, but I'd put Power WIndows at the top of my list. It's an amazing album from start to finish. Not only are there no weak tracks, but there are no mediocre tracks either. Every song on this album is at least very good (Grand Designs, Emotion Detector), with a number of true classics (Big Money, Mystic Rhythms, Marathon).
Good response Larry! I agree, sometimes I can listen to one album of theirs multiple times, at other times it's not what I want to feed my mind. Though I've equally come to his defence for balance, for the openly hostile personal attack someone else made here (unlike yours), which was unnecessary. Good to see a much better and well thought out response, using some of their lyrics to support the point. Nice one.
People forget how popular synth was in the 80s. You were considered a dinosaur without it. Rush's problem was that they endured long enough to see several styles go out of fashion.
Been a Rush fan since 1986. My personal Best to Worst list (judging the album as a whole): Moving Pictures Hemispheres A Farewell to Kings Permanent Waves Signals Power Windows 2112 Grace Under Pressure Fly By Night Clockwork Angels Hold Your Fire Counterparts Snakes and Arrows Roll the Bones Caress of Steel Rush Presto Vapor Trails Test for Echo
I'm a new listener to Rush (only 35 years young, listening for 2 years now). I'm surprised that Caress of Steel did badly in its day. I feel it would be a great album to introduce any good rock fan to Rush. Because the songs remind me of other bands - ACDC, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and of course, Rush themselves. There's something for everyone in that album, making the music juicy and delicious - you can eat it up. It will inspire you to listen to the long epics and research the band and their music a lot more.
I'm gonna drop my order here, BEFORE watching this video. And yeah, it's likely gonna be different -- quite different -- from this list. But hey, that's the nature of great music, and lists in general! I'm gonna leave out the covers album, 'Feedback,' by the way. 1. Power Windows (1985) 2. Hemispheres (1978) 3. Moving Pictures (1981) 4. Permanent Waves (1980) 5. Grace Under Pressure (1984) 6. Fly By Night (1975) 7. A Farewell To Kings (1977) 8. 2112 (1976) 9. Signals (1982) 10. Clockwork Angels (2012) 11. Rush (1974) 12. Counterparts (1993) 13. Presto (1989) 14. Hold Your Fire (1987) 15. Snakes & Arrows (2007) 16. Roll The Bones (1991) 17. Vapor Trails (2002)* 18. Caress Of Steel (1975) 19. Test For Echo (1996) *The 2013 remix is now, for me, the definitive version, and the version I took into account when making this list And now, AFTER watching the video, it just reinforces my belief that Rush is truly one of the greatest bands of all time!
Why hate on Test For Echo? It sounds exactly like a combination between Snakes and Arrows and Counterparts with a slightly upbeat tone. Their best 90s work by far.
@@yarlodek5842 Yeah...I didn't make my original post very clear. Absolutely NO hate at all from me for TFE. Rush is my second favorite band, all-time, second only to Pink Floyd -- and I truly love their entire catalog. So, think of the albums in the last part of my list not as "Fs," but as "strong Bs." And TFE certainly has a very special place in my heart, for personal reasons. Let's just say that it was released at a very interesting time in my life, and I'll always associate that particular album with those years -- every time I hear anything from it, it brings back 1996-1997 very clearly!
Thanks. A Rush fan and it is interesting that on any particular day my preferences might change. A Farewell to Kings and Moving Pictures are always close to the top. Thanks for taking the time and doing the video.
Rush is my favorite band, so I'm interested in this, and I was one of those who asked for it, so..... OK. This is a video of your opinions, I get it. That said, there are certain things in here where I thought, "What the hell are you talking about?!" (i.e. Side 2 of 2112, Side 2 of Moving Pictures, Losing It from Signals is one of the most poignant songs I've ever heard). Your top 5 is exactly the same as my top 5, just in a little different order, and it's really hard to put them in any order at all. If I had to do a top ten, it would be something like: 10) Clockwork Angels 9) Counterparts (I might have put Presto here but I think the production on Presto sucks monkey butt) 8) Fly By Night 7) Grace Under Pressure (I think there is more great guitar work on this than you give credit for, I've always heard a Police influence on this album, I think) 6) Signals (Analog Kid, Digital Man, the Weapon, Losing It... all great songs) 5) A Farewell to Kings 4) 2112 (Side 2 is great... or at least all the partying I did listening to it was. Funny, I remember the songs like a soundtrack but can't remember the events... ah the 70s/80s) 3) Permanent Waves 2) Moving Pictures 1) Hemispheres Thank you for doing these videos, they are a lot of fun. Keep it up, maybe try King Crimson sometime!
I love the transitional nature of Fly By Night, because it was like they were trying to hang onto hard rock but moving onto prog rock, so it was the best of both worlds for me.
I knew I should have skipped this vídeo - two albums and I'm already angry. :D ....... So, finished the list. Still a fun watch though some of your justifications irked me a bit (what? someone is angry on the internet? Unheard of! :D), but it just confirms what is great about Rush - they absolutely have something for everyone, no matter what your preferences are. For me, I was a huge fan of their seventies material (I mean, I still am), but as the years passed I came to appreciate them more for their progressiveness rather than their "proggyness", hence why I now generally prefer the albums between 79 and 84. Lyrically I highly disagree with you calling their 80's stuff "cheesy" (the 70's definitely take that crown for me :D) - I find their lyrics from Permanent Waves on some of the best in rock music history, and I'm usually not a lyrics guy at all. Otherwise, well done! So, for reference, here is my preference (no mystery, going from favourite to least favourite): 1 Signals 2 Grace Under Pressure 3 Moving Pictures 4 A Farewell to Kings 5 Permanent Waves 6 Hemispheres 7 2112 8 Fly by Night 9 Power Windows 10 Clockwork Angels 11 Caress of Steel 12 Counterparts 13 Hold Your Fire 14 Snakes & Arrows 15 Presto 16 Roll the Bones 17 Rush 18 Test for Echo 19 Vapor Trails
I've been a RUSH fan since 1974. Maybe it's because I was rather young when I first started listening to them, or maybe it's because I try to be very open minded, but I have found that I like all of the band's recordings for one reason or another. All told, an amazing musical journey that illustrates the changes those three guys went through.
Literally don't agree with any spot, but I've enjoyed the video and respect your opinion. Yeah people, that's possible
Well said
@jmt1000 oh well, I'm not from America 😋
Mr.E Fudd needs to work on his “ponunsciation.’ Initially refers to “CARESS OF STEEL” AS “CAREST.” Whenever “Elmer” has the album shown quickly on the screen, uses proper pronunciation. “CARESS.” Relieved that he is @ least able to phonetically pronounce w/ help of a “ visual aid -in this case the album cover shown, to my horror the “FUDDSTER” w/o a visual aid as was the album cover earlier, I’m assuming, he & the “rabbit ,CAREST, pops out of the hole to again add to the embarrassment of this poor review once again. On a lighter note, I will agree 100% w/ his # 1 choice. BY FAR , HEMISPHERES IS MY #1 AS WELL ! Just goes to show that when it comes to a ENTHUSIAST RUSH FAN, there is ALWAYS GREATNESS! We need to live accordingly, love GOD W/ALL OUR HEARTS,MINDS, & SOULS. We also need o live our lives according to the GOLDEN RULE! Both attributes, I believe, are as important as the other. A life lived with both ,I feel is beyond description ! But remember, “ QUICK TO JUDGE QUICK TO ANGER SLOW TO UNDERSTAND IGNORANCE AND PREJUDICE AND FEAR WALK HAND IN HAND.”
I couldnt take it so seriously after giving Counterparts second to last. I respectfully stopped watching.
Fabiano Dias same. Definitely surprised me
R.I.P. Neil Peart - 1952-2020
It’s nice to see so many people being respectful to each other, in spite of so many differing opinions about their discography. Rush and their fans = class! Proud to be a Rush fan!
Get into Cygnus x-1 facebook page and you will find a lot of crazy ass MF Rush "fans"
I’ve never understood the lack of love for Caress of Steel
It's the album that got me into Rush. Fabulous and weird.
Agreed
Yup. It's an excellent progrock album with a hard rock edge as well (even though some mellow parts in there). IMHO, the "synth-pop" installment of their career is damn near traitorous. I prefer, for the most part, the first half of their discography. Harder, more progrocky. Is progracky actually a word? Well you get the point.
starts off with a right ripping history lesson that 'll leave yer head in a basket and finishes with a careening mystery obsession even neil forgot how to play over time. thematically/conceptually/sonically as uneven as bermuda turbulence. ,lacks persistance of vision, i mean we go from the french revolution 's trenchant message of all corrupting power , then to a wtf meditation on hair loss then a prog stars on 45 mash up with a nod to king crimson's in the court of the ......crust of steel might be more apt. lakeside park,bastille day and the 2nd 3rd movement of ...'neuromancer. make for a cozy 15 minute ep for me.
!?
@@petermccormack3786 Learn English please
With Rush, there is no worst. There is only least best.
...right? I wouldn't even start to think in terms of best and worst...it's all awesomeness!
Yeah, they're THAT good, least best is about as bad (and I still cringe using that word) as they ever got. Great, great band, gonna miss 'em so much, but I've a lifetime of brilliant memories to enjoy and music to look forward to again and again. What a legacy !
Well put. I agree wholeheartedly.
I agree in principle...but there are 4 Rush albums that are drink coasters for me.
@@RickNBacker are they rush, hold your fire, presto and roll the bones? Those are the only ones I don't love
Hemispheres is an album you just can't stop listening to it or skip over anything as soon as it begins.
The whole album feels like one giant song. I could listen to it three times in a row and not be bored.
Bryton Cherrier I feel the same. I also think that given the fact Rush released tons of albums featuring impressive instrumentals, Hemispheres is their tightest, sharpest, and most impressive exhibition of those skills. Anyone who hears it should pay special attention to the bass throughout. It’s just incredible, and once I started to give it extra attention, the songs were even better to me. Listen to Geddy’s playing during Circumstances. Some of the best rock bass ever recorded.
Agreed. Hemispheres blows me away every time i listen to it and i have heard this album about 30 times now!
Agreed, the same opinion seems prevalent with my higher IQ friends
I E this is no favorite for dummies
My favorite album.....it’s so good
Analog kid from signals is one of their best bangers , it's fantastic
Yeah, that riff is monstrous.
That solo aswell
OMG I have an LP of Signals and the acoustics are soooo dynamic. Analog Kid's bass is just absolutely insane
Completely agree. It's one of my top 5 favorite tracks from them
That song is in my Top 10 Rush songs, or damn close. So underrated.
Sorry, I can't agree with your thoughts of Natural Science ...this is one of the best Rush songs period
John P Olivas I can see where he is coming from with the schizophrenic feel of it all but it never bothered me at all. Love this song.
John P Olivas Totally agree
Agreed. The opening lyrics of Natural Science are some of the most beautiful you will ever hear. But them I'm a scientist and a veterinarian so they may resonate with me more than with most people.
John P Olivas I love the first half of the song but I hate the second half.
@@edwardspiezio9793 A fair point.
Grace under pressure at #14 is a crime
Boston VH As someone who loves the synth-era Rush, I agree.
Agreed. The album is certainly top 10 material
Its in my bottom five. I regret the thin production values of Grace Under Pressure. The production just guts the songs of any power, punch or feeling.
@@claudeciancio1933 Yeah, after Terry Brown left the production of the albums took a nosedive.
Many of those 80s tracks are miserable on the album and phenomenal live (Mystic Rhythms, The Pass, and Distant Early Warning, especially).
@@claudeciancio1933 Yeah i agree. The production on Rush's albums after Terry Brown left range from mediocre to just downright terrible. Thank god for the live performances!
Caress of Steel might be their most underrated album, I almost like the Necromancer and Fountain of Lamneth as much as Cygnus
2112 and Cygnus probably don't exist without Necromancer and Lamneth.
Vincent Carotta caress of steel never have been a big fan of this album. Bastille Day Lakeside Park and that’s it
This is exactly right. The problem with the album is that you're so excited to get to Necromancer and Fountain of Lamneth that everything seems better on the way. (Although, I've always liked Bastille Day.) If you were kind of a quasi-metalhead/Sabbath Fan, hard-rock fan when this came out, and you hadn't discovered prog rock yet, then those two songs were paradigm shifters. Who did songs about "necromancers"?? And so the strength and anticipation of those songs. I think I'm going blind is just go0ofy and Lakeside Park is definitely not the metal-fan pleasure. It's always a strange/amusing thing with (later?) Rush fans; they think 2112 is their first full-side suite. Nope!
May your narpets thrive.
in 1981 I was coming home from a night of drinking, took a short cut down a dirt road, and was amazed at what I think was a chain lightning display on the far side of a cow pasture, spreading out horizontally across the sky. I parked my 69 Mach I in the middle of the road, got out and laid on the windshield, and listened to Cygnus X1.
I see the Gods in battle rage on high
Thunderbolts across the sky
I cannot move, I cannot hide
I feel a silent scream begin inside.
One of my very best memories.
Hold Your Fire has Open Secrets and Force Ten. Open Secrets solo is one of Alex’s most tender and beautiful. Both songs are Rush standouts in my opinion. Presto seems to me to be more of that transitional album.
“Time Stand Still” is an excellent song too from _Hold Your Fire_
@@eledrums Time Stand Still is in my top 10 favorite Rush songs. The lyrics are amazing.
Agreed. I like HYF way more than Presto. Mission and Turn the Page are two faves.
You forgot ‘Mission’.
KING CRIMSON NEXT PLEASE OH PLEASE
Bubba Mike yes please!
Bubba Mike That would be great! Love Crimson
Make that happen sir
I second that!
I'm not sure he's up to it.
Great list. I agree with most of it.
You're pretty young. That gives you the advantage of hearing a band's back catalog completely objectively and point out what you think is their most enduring works and their biggest failed experiments. When they were the Rushiest and when they were the least Rushiest. The downside is that you may not hear those records in their proper historical context- what music was "in" at the time and what was the latest and greatest technology at the time.
For example, by 1985, MIDI was the newest thing and sequencers were a shiny new toy and Geddy was obviously itching to play around with them. Hence, "Power Windows". The same goes for the Simmons Drums on Grace Under Pressure.
Personally, I loved the 80's synth records. Signals, GUP, Power Windows, Hold Your Fire. I was a teen when those came out and compared to what was mainstream at the time (Phil Collins, Huey Lewis, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Survivor, etc) they were brilliant statements of sticking to the mainstream. And, they were the "soundtrack of my life" at the time.
By contrast, I hated most of the 90's records when they were released. They sounded like relics of a previous decade. Still doing 80s things like putting digital reverb on the drums and chorus effect on distortion. As a musician in my early 20s during the grunge years, admitting to liking Rush was incredibly uncool. And rightfully so. If a flannel-shirted, soul-patched grunge rocker said that Rush was lame, it isn't as if I could put on "Dreamline" or "Nobody's Hero" as exclaim "Oh, yeah? Well, listen to THIS".
It's funny, but various people in those bands that were so popular at the time such as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails - they have all recently come out and said how important Rush was to them as budding musicians. That is certainly vindication for us lifelong fans.
Top 5
Hemispheres
A Farewell To Kings
Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Signals
@Joe M. No, for me Signals is a five star Rush album. It's not set in stone, 2112 or GUP could be in there the next day.
I would put 2112 instead of Signals.
I'm so surprised, the Fountain of Lamneth is one of my favorite songs! I really like Caress of Steel. Oh well.
This is going to be incredibly subjective because there are so many different kinds of Rush fans. My favorites are their 80s albums (with Hold Your Fire being my all-time favorite) but I know not everyone will agree with me. The fans of the other eras are just as hardcore fans as I am.
Interesting favorite
1- 2112
2- fly by night
3- Rush
4- caress of steel
5- permanent waves
6-moving pictures
7- farewell to kings
8- hemispheres
9- signals
10- grace under pressure
Songs
1- lakeside
2- lessons
3- subdivisions
4- circumstances
5- working man
6- you don’t get something
7- spirit
8- free will
9- Red barchetta
10- limelight
11- closer to the 💜
How is Animate and Stick it out not “Get your blood pumpin” like the tracks on Test for Echo?????
I love Hold Your Fire.
Time Stand Still, Open Secrets, Mission, and Prime Mover are amazing.
Have been a Rush fan for 12 years now. Yes was really loving their 70's, 80's and early 90's music especially. But decided to not finish watching this because, as with just about any description of music from the 1980's, the word "cheese" came up. Been thinking about that word lately. And its meaning. It refers to something that's overly sentimental, cheap, unpleasant and blatantly inauthentic. During the 80's, even a synthesizer had to be played by a human being. Today I hear how much music has become so bland due to years of people throwing the word "cheese" around so loosely? Indie rockers are actually returning to an 80's style sound for a MORE "authentic" sound. Have put up and shut up with the terms "80's music" and "cheese" being used interchangeably. This was a great idea to review Rush albums from bad to worse, and it just just opinion for sure. Just choosing not to entertain the "cheese" notion about 80's music any longer Note Reviews. It was a fallacy during the grunge era of the 90's and early 2000's. And has proven so with that direction indie rock has taken. By the way? Hold Your Fire, Power Windows and Grace Under Pressure were some of the most musically forward thinking albums Rush ever did. Dare say you might want to give them another listen. Especially in light of the current 80's oriented direction of modern indie rock.
Andregrindle thanks for defending a great era of music👍
I think your commentary here has touched upon a larger problem in music critique. Nice job articulating it. It adresses the "labels" people feel the need to attach to certain eras, and genres....and it's really an attempt to diminish it
@@dusty3913 thank you! Didn't want to sound hostile towards Notes Reviews. Do celebrate any notions at well rounded critical assessment. Just didn't think that referring to music as "cheesy" was...particularly well rounded. So endeavored to make my response dignified and intelligent.
@@Andregrindle I wouldn't put any money on that self-absorbed pretence of your reply being "intelligent". What is evident is your naivety regards the term. Firstly, regards the term "cheesy" as a description, it does exist. Secondly, everybody and their dog who was around at that time - and you very definitely were not, with your all of 12 years of being a fan-boy - fully understands the context and connotations. You seemingly don't. We are talking about really bad synth sounds over-riding the expected application of musicianship whilst using proper instruments. Not that synths should not be regarded as such, but all that bar-chord - block-chord synth usage was a cop out. Most of us around at the time regarded that as putrid. You wouldn't know that because the knob-jocks on Rawk-FM radio etc., never ever diss anything. Rush produced a whole plethora of total garbage, year-in, year-out. They ended up sounding like feckin' Starship, ferchrissakes. Take your attention over to the UK. You'll be far better served.
@Jay Richards You may be right, I certainly had no idea when I got into them at first. I'd venture though that equally importantly, he's a young reviewer who evidently LOVES Rush, and that fills me with hope for appreciation of talented contemporary music :-) I'm seeing kids of 16 and less getting in to them even now, and I was 16 when Moving Pictures came out ! We've got to love how many generations of good music fans are seriously involved followers and appreciate them.
Call out for direction, and there's no one there to steer.
Shout out for salvation, but there's no one there to hear.
Cry out supplication, for the maelstrom is near.
Scream out desperation, but no one cares to hear.
The lyrics to my life. Caress of Steel is a masterpiece.
Appreciate you recognizing
" Clockwork Angels " as a decent album. It's a very good comeback album and a great way to finish their long run. I think
" Headlong Flight " is absolutely incredible !!
Favorite 20 Rush Songs:
1) 2112 Overture
2) Passage to Bangkok
3) Lakeside Park
4) Fly By Night
5) Closer to the Heart
6) Bastille Day
7) Xanadu
8) Entre Nous
9) Madrigal
10) Farewell to Kings
11) Cygnus X-1
12) The Twilight Zone
13) Tears
14) Cinderella Man
15) Cygnus X-1 book 2
16) Circumstances
17) Lessons
18) Anthem
19) Something for Nothing
20) The Necromancer
Rush is the best band ever
Amen
i actually saw rush at the century theater in buffalo, there sabersman
brand X and max webster opened, 76 i think it was, could have been 75
Just imagining making this video....I couldn't do picking the albums worst to best.
to me Xanadu alone makes farewell to kings their best album, its one of my favorite musics ever period.
I agree
Musics?
1. Signals
2. Power Windows
3. Moving Pictures
4. 2112
5. Hemispheres
6. Permanent Waves
7. A Farewell to Kings
8. Grace Under Pressure
9. Counterparts
10. Clockwork Angels
11. Fly By Night
12. Snakes and Arrows
13. Hold Your Fire
14. Presto
15. Caress of Steel
16. Roll the Bones
17. Rush
18. Vapor Trails
19. Test for Echo
I haven't heard all of the albums but I love 'Power Windows' ; good to see that you also rate it very highly . I did own ''Vapour Trails' for a brief period before binning it !
i like your list better than his
I love signals. I've never heard songs quite like "The Weapon" and "Losing It"
I agree I never get sick of listening to signals. Very good production quality with a lighter mix of sensitizers that doesn’t overwhelm the album. Niels drums have dynamics and punch unlike grace under pressure which was poorly produced after losing Terry Brown.. Much better production quality than any of the later records In the late 80s and 90s throughout the 2000s except for snakes and arrows.
Joe Gilbert listen to test for Echo again it kicks ass it’s top 10 easy
I don't know why but Power Windows is my fav Rush album, cheese and all. Its just so enjoyable ❤
Im with u . It makes my top 3 easy
No no, there's no cheese there it's an excellent amazing record. Never doubt that one for a second buddy, good choice
Same here. I’m a sucker for the synths on that record. I just picked up a sealed vinyl at my local record store today. RIP NP.💔
It's a really good album. Marathon is in my top 10 Rush tracks.
You’re not alone. Def in my top 5
My rough list... each album could move up +1/-1 depending on my mood... but here goes:
1. A Farewell to Kings (My personal favorite album of all time)
2. Hemispheres
3. Moving Pictures (I prioritized my two favorite albums, but I'd probably put this at #1 if we're ranking strictly by "best")
4. 2112
5. Permanent Waves
6. Signals
7. Clockwork Angels
8. Grace Under Pressure
9. Counterparts
10. Power Windows
11. Fly By Night
12. Caress of Steel
13. Vapor Trails (2013 Mix, the original 02 mix is unlistenable)
14. Rush (Self-Titled debut)
15. Snakes and Arrows
16. Roll the Bones
17. Test for Echo
18. Presto
19. Hold Your Fire
I absolutely agree with you that Rush have no "bad" albums (even the cover's EP they put out I didn't put on my list).. The bottom 3 albums are the only ones i'd put in the "meh" category, but everything above that are albums that have more material that I like than dislike and are at least "good" in my book...
Good list except for clockwork is god awful. Horrible production quality blaring compressed noise. Unacceptable. Signals is about work should be top five much better production quality listen to Neil’s drums they sound so much more dynamic than the crap on clockwork Blarring muck . Grace is a good records but the production quality lacks Niels drum sound dead, etched screechy vocals and guitars and lack of dynamics. Ironically power windows which came one year after that had much better production quality but lacked the material of grace.
GRVrush2112 switch Test for Echo and counterparts
Why doesn’t Test for Echo get any props listen again it rocks C’MON!!!
This is at least closer to my own rankings, with Farewell To Kings firmly 1st, and Presto/HoldYourFire last. Fly By Night might move up some, Snakes & Arrows definitely moves up, displacing Clockwork Angels to mid pack. Also, I much prefer Test For Echo to Roll The Bones. Every Rush album has merit, of course. ;-)
Your list is almost perfect, except that Permanent Waves needs to be at 3 and Moving Pictures and 2112 can move down a spot each
Hold your fire is a masterpiece. Force ten,prime mover,lock and key,Mission.
Frank Zappa, Worst to Best.. I demand a 4 hour long video.
GRVrush2112 If he did a bucket head worst to best, 3 new albums would’ve come out during the duration of the video
Yes please please
GRVrush2112 you'd need 4 days, not 4 hours.
He should try and rank all the Zappa albums up until his death. That wouldn't be too bad but literally everything he's done even posthomous ones? Man that's a lot of albums!
Lol
Signals is definitely top 3 for me. Songs like analog kid and digital man always slap. One of my top three rush songs “losing it” is on signals and is this somber slow burner and one of the most unique songs rush has ever wrote
Why do so many people hate Caress of Steel? It flopped on release, nearly killed the band, the industry hated it, the band hates it, etc., but it's an amazing album. IMO it's as good as 2112. People really need to give Caress another listen.
it's my favorite album.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
I consider A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres to be one piece: Rush's White Album. Not only because of the Cygnus X-1 connection or the latter's title, but they work so well as one journey.
Justified "angry" comment: You said Clockwork Angels was released in 2002 instead of 2012.
Byleven actually 2011
You’re right
@ A little harsh don't ya think?
Here’s my list
1. Grace Under Pressure
2. Power Windows
3. Permeant Waves
4. Moving Pictures
5. Signals
6. Clockwork Angles
7. Hold Your Fire
8. Hemispheres
9. A Farewell To Kings
10. Counterparts
11. 2112
12. Roll The Bones
13. Fly By Night
14. Vapor Trails
15. Snakes & Arrows
16. Presto
17. Test For Echo
18. S/T
19. Caress Of Steel
(I really love all their albums expect for Caress Of Steel it’s boring outside of some good stuff on the first side)
Solid list! 👍😀
how could you possibly put 'caress of steel' so low...it's one of their best albums...and p.s...you forgot to mention 'bastille day' which is also a great track from that classic piece of vinyl...
Agreed, Bastille is one their best kickass album openers
Definitely not #17.
You need to burn a haystack bowl, slap on the headphones, and listen to the Fountain of Lamneth until you are speaking sense
By far Caress of Steel is an under rated album. I'll bet most 'rush fans' don't even own a copy of it.
@@stevel5912 - love this sentiment. Thumbs up!
Number 19 Hold Your Fire. So your one of them
'Power Windows' is my personal favourite.
Oh man, this list was rough until I got to like the top 5 only because my version is a bit different.
19 - Hold Your Fire
18 - Power Windows
17 - Roll the Bones
16 - Clockwork Angels
15 - Rush
14 - Presto
13 - Counterparts
12 - Snakes and Arrows
11 - Caress of Steel
10 - Vapor Trails
9 - Test for Echo
8 - 2112 (Although 2112 the song is one of my favorite Rush tracks of all-time)
7 - Signals
6 - Grace Under Pressure
5 - Fly By Night
4 - A Farewell to Kings
3 - Moving Pictures
2 - Permanent Waves
1 - Hemispheres
HEMISPHERES. Absolutely the greatest Rush album of all time and one of the finest works of art ever created.
My order:
20: Caress of Steel
19: Power Windows
18: Feedback
17: Presto
16: Snakes and Arrows
15: Roll the Bones
14: Hold Your Fire
13: Grace Under Pressure
12: Signals
11: Rush
10: Fly By Night
9: Test For Echo
8: Permanent Waves
7: Counterparts
6: A Farewell to Kings
5: 2112
4: Vapor Trails Remixed
3: Clockwork Angels
2: Moving Pictures
1: Hemispheres
It's actually Neil PEERT and not PURT lol... he's talked about it a few times, including in one of his books :P
You are correct, this has been discussed so many times in interviews with the band, but we all love to say PURT for some reason !
Neil pEARt.
Actually, it's Neil Peart
Are you sure it's not pronounced Paert?
...he said it's pronounced like 'heart'...
38 year Hardcore Rush fan here. Its all subjective
#1 Permanent Waves
#2 Hemispheres
#3 Moving Pictures
#4 Farewell to Kings
#5 2112
#6 Fly By Night
#7 Grace Under Pressure
#8 Signals
#9 Rush
#10 Caress of Steel
#11 Counterparts
#12 Vapor trails
#13 Snakes and Arrows
#14 Clockwork Angels
#15 Hold Your Fire
#16 Power Windows
#17 Test For Echo
#18 Presto
#19 Roll the Bones
1. Hemispheres
2. Permanent Waves
3. A Farewell to Kings
4. Moving Pictures
5. 2112
6. Grace Under Pressure
7. Fly By Night
8. Signals
9. Rush
10. Clockwork Angels
11. Caress Of Steel (I LOVE Bastille Day & Fountain of Lamneth)
12. Vapor Trails
13. Snake & Arrows
14. Hold Your Fire
15. Power Windows
16. Test For Echo
17. Counterparts
18. Roll The Bones
19. Hold Your Fire
Where’s Presto
@@bubbamike4743 Presto chango, I think it magically transformed into Hold Your Fire which is listed twice.
I have the same top 5 in the same order.
@@daneng3641 Shit, sorry! I don't know why I did that!! They're the albums I listen to the least and I completely forgot about Presto when listening them and forgot that I put HYF last. TBH, those bottom 5 albums could trade places and it wouldn't matter too much to me!
@ What, do you expect me to rank albums that I don't like highly just to break the norm? Jesus, it's my fucking opinion.
Every single Rush fan has strong opinions on what's best and worst- including a guy who unironically wrote that Rush was never the same after John Rutsy left the band. However, "Signals" is the peak in my opinion, front to back- with Moving Pictures and Grace Under Pressure in the 2 and 3 slots.
Where I think Rush went off the rails a bit was to allow outside musicians into the mix which happened on Power Windows and beyond in places- specifically additional keyboards. This doesn't apply to guest musicians such as Hugh Syme (different strings) or Ben Mink (Losing It) prior to that, which are brilliant cameos. I'm talking about just bringing in a hired hand to try to make things better overall from the keys standpoint, which just didn't.
1- Hemispheres
2- Moving Pictures
3- A Farewell to Kings
4- 2112
5- Fly by Night
6- Permanent Waves
7- Signals
8- Snakes and Arrows
9- Roll the Bones
10- Caress of Steel
11- Clockwork Angels
12- Grace Under Pressure
13- Rush
14- Power Windows
15- Hold Your Fire
16- Vapor Trails
17- Presto
18- Counterparts
19- Test for Echo
I would agree with a lot of this list. 👍
Here is mine (best to worst)
Permanent Waves
Hemispheres
Grace Under Pressure
Moving Pictures
Signals
Presto (I rank this one high because it was my first Rush album so nostalgic)
Farewell to Kings
Counterparts
Roll the Bones
Test for Echo
2112
Fly by Night
Hold Your Fire
Power Windows (to be fair I haven't heard a lot of songs other than The Big Money, Marathon, Mystic Rhythms)
Snakes & Arrows
Vapor Trails
Rush first album
Caress of Steel
Clockwork Angels
Some of the ones at the end of the list I don't listen to as much so the order may change a bit. I've also never heard the remixed Vapor Trails so improved production might move it up the list a bit.
Great video, now I feel like listening to Rush's discography from beginning to end all over again.
You sound like a wine taster using vague, meaningless phrases trying to explain why one bottle of wine is better than another. @34:14 "Natural Science goes off the map with no real rhyme or reason; it just kinda... leaves and doesn't really come back." What does that even mean?
I don’t think of Grace Under Pressure as a "synth wave" album. Certainly, coming off of Signals they were adding more and more synths, but for me there is still a fine balance. The PPG Wave in particular adds new and interesting textures against Alex's guitar sound. For me it’s a good rock album. In my estimation the synth overload started with Power Windows. Also, I think Signals is a great album, I’d put it higher. I disagree about the material. I think Signals is full of great songs.
Grace is sharp as a razor. After all these years, I still get chills. It ages well, it's like wine! In my private ranking it is definitely in the top five.
Wow, Hold Your Fire being last hurts, thats in my top 6 for sure. I'd say my list goes Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Moving Pictures, Power Windows, Presto, then Hold Your Fire. After would be Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, and then the others. I stopped here because those top 8 are all really close to each other and basically interchangeable top to bottom. After would most likely be Farewell to Kings, 2112, Fly By Night, Roll the Bones, but even Clockwork Angels, Caress of Steel, Test For Echo, and so on are weaker and the ones I didn't mention pretty much suck to me.
Hold Your Fire is my favorite Rush album.
@@oldsrocket8841lt was just a mix up from what they'd done before. It was their softer side with the synth era, two styles that weren't the most popular with fans. But I think their songs were amazing, although it wad the period when Alex just played a lot of chords on guitar and didn't drive the songs as much. Geddy drove with bass a lot. Still, amazing album that I adore
You’re my kind of Rush fan 😁 I won’t list em all, but my top 5 are: 5) Power Windows 4) Permanent Waves 3) Grace Under Pressure 2) Moving Pics 1) Signals
Even on my least favorite RUSH albums (Vapor Trails, Presto), I always find 2 songs that grab me
Every Rush fan's list will vary wildly. That's just how it is.
Yes, Counterparts is a pretty dire album, and for me the reasons are that they pretty much avoided any of their signature tricky instrumental breaks (save for one instrumental), therefore the songs are WAY too long to be just verses and choruses repeated over and over with nothing interesting going on. Then when you add their new cluttered sound with multi-tracked guitars and basses, "Geddy choirs" and his new "flamenco bass" technique, you have no breathing room between instruments thus the songs lack the dynamics of the best Rush albums. Counterparts is a drink coaster for me.
Top 3 for me. Alien shore top 5 song.
Test for Echo is a good album, very underrated
YES!!!
Apparently the most underrated I have it top 5
Serious? This one I have tapped out many times. Not sure if I ever made it through Dog Years. What a stinker! I do have to admit I really like Driven.
T4E was my favorite Rush album post Power Windows, until Clockwork Angels came along. I rate it maybe a 3 - 3.5 on a scale of 1 to 5, doesn't rank among their best for me but I like it SO much better than the 3 albums that preceded it.
I agree it's a really good album I live listening to it
I gladly agree with you: A farewell to Kings and Hemispheres make the best combo and are pretty much my top albums as well.
I don't agree with everything in the list, of course. I would probably put Signals, Grace Under Pressure and Caress of Steel higher on the list for me. Great video overall!
Same. Caress of Steel at the 18th spot? Nah
Great video :-) I was surprised to see that you put Hold Your Fire in last place. It probably wouldn't crack my top 10, but quite a few (Presto...) are much worse in my opinion.
My top 4, in no particular order, are Grace Under Pressure, Moving Pictures, Hemispheres, and A Farewell to Kings, with Permanent Waves and Signals jostling for 5th place. To me those six albums (in almost as many years!) between A Farewell to Kings and Grace Under Pressure are pure gold. But I also absolutely love Counter Parts -- another one I was surprised to see you place at the bottom.
Oh hey, a Rush Worst to Best!! I figured you're still trying to get through their entire disco-
*sees it's over 40 minutes*
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy is this gonna be quite the video lol
been working on this since June :P filmed about 2 hours worth of content for it :)
@@NotesReviews Jesus Christ that's a lot. Hope you're proud of this video regardless XD
I really am :)
19. Test for Echo (4/10)
18. Presto (6/10)
17. Vapor Trails (6/10)
16. Fly by Night (6/10)
15. Rush (6/10)
14. Hold Your Fire (7/10)
13. Caress of Steel (7/10)
12. Roll the Bones (7/10)
11. Snakes & Arrows (7/10)
10. Clockwork Angels (8/10)
9. Power Windows (8/10)
8. Signals (8/10)
7. Counterparts (8/10)
6. 2112 (9/10)
5. A Farewell to Kings (9/10)
4. Grace Under Pressure (9/10)
3. Moving Pictures (9/10)
2. Permanent Waves (10/10)
1. Hemispheres (10/10)
I gotta say I definitely love your analysis of each album. I totally respect your opinions on some of these albums and just like every one else, my list is WAY different than yours lol. I have a little bias too because Rush is my favorite band of all time, and quite honestly I could probably listen to every single album and never get tired of them, even though some are weaker than others. But I think we can all agree... like you said in the beginning, Rush never had a single BAD album in their career. So I totally respect your opinions, appreciate the personal opinions in there too, love the video and can not wait for the next one!
Never understood the hate for the synths.. That's what made Rush famous.. The iconic synth solos on Tom Sawyer and Subdivisions.
It was used to complement their music up to Moving Pictures. After that, it became a centrepiece starting with Signals and ending with Roll the Bones. That's why.
@@jbblade5247 Sorry Joe, this is not a dis on you.. people have been complaining about the so called Rush "synth era" since time immemorial.. When were they not a synth band? since synthesizers were invented.. They pioneered Midi for God's sake.. I know they threw in the towel on it after so much criticism in the 90's but they produced so many great albums in the 1980's.. So now, in this time of 80's nostalgia I still don't understand this.. sorry.
Finally you got around to making this list and man what a list this was. I disagreed with 50% list so most of it until we hit the 6th spot but i still respect your opinion. I love that with Rush, since they have such a huge catalog, they way people rank their albums all depend on like you said their age and how it affected them. I can say with confidence that Rush is probably one of my top 3 favourite bands of all time. All of their albums while some are weaker than others bring something interesting to the table and i love how much the band has changed over the years. Starting as a hard rock band then 'progressing' into a full-blown prog rock band which then led into them becoming more new wave and synth-rock etc. etc. While i thought some of your arguments were a bit repetetive (a lot of talk about length, not enough highlights etc.) i still thought you did a fantastic job with this list and it was definitely worth waiting for.
Oh and pls do King Crimson next. I know you want to;)
Oh and also my ranking:
(this is a tough one)
19. Test For Echo
18. Roll the Bones
17. Snakes and Arrows
16. Rush
15. Hold Your Fire
14. Presto
13. Counterparts
12. Vapor Trails
11. 2112 (gonna get a lot of flak for this)
10. Fly By Night
9. Signals
8. Clockwork Angels
7. Caress of Steel
6. Grace Under Pressure
5. Power Windows (such an underrated gem of an album)
4. Moving Pictures
3. Permanet Waves
2. A Farewell to Kings
1. Hemispheres (one of my favourite albums of all time)
This will probably change over time since i haven't listened to all their discography in a long long time
A co-worker of mine got me into Rush. I've listened to their debut thru Power Windows and I can't say there's one I dislike. Still gotta listen to the rest. My favorite I'd say is Permenant Waves.
Hold Your Fire is super underrated in my view. It was one of those albums I looked at the cover and said to myself "I have a feeling I'm going to love this."
And yeah, I was right. The mellow and atmospheric sound is so unique to this album. Everyone focuses on Tai Shan and thinks the lyrics are terrible, but most of the other songs have some of the greatest lyrics ever penned by Neil, in my view of course.
The lyrics may have been weird but they weren’t bad. I fucking love HYF
So what you're saying is that China doesn't sing to you?
The lyrics of Force Ten, Time Stand Still, Turn The Page, Mission and Open Secrets are great lyrics.
I’ve been a big Rush fan for quite a few years, but I have to say, I feel like I’m still discovering their music all the time. I feel like I’m still falling in love with their music. And you know, a few years ago I might have agreed with you more. But the more I listen to Rush, the more I realise that every track on Signals is an absolute banger, Counterparts is both a return to form but with all the lessons learned in the synth period about song writing and structuring, and Clockwork Angels is probably their finest album they ever created. Their music is deep, dense and intricate, and I think you have to let a lot of it really grow on you before you fully appreciate it. Subdivisions and New World Man are the singles that still get radio play, so their increased familiarity probably makes them stand out more, until the dynamic contrast of Analog Kid really sits in, or the Reggae-infused rhythms of Digital Man get you grooving, or the passion and melancholy of Losing It hit a soft spot. I fell in love with every song on that album over time. I could go on and on, cause I could talk passionately about all their songs, but you get the idea, I hope.
5. Grace Under Pressure
4. Caress of Steel
3. Hemispheres
2. 2112
1. Permanent Waves
Hey, not bad! Permanent waves has climbed its way up my list over the years.
great top 5!
@@corycastleman6351 yeah same
@@joshtheegotist thanks man
where's Moving Pictures?
I cannot believe you put caress of steel so low.. Necromancer and the title track are great for me.
" worst " Rush album is an oxymoron
Fookin A Ronnie!!!!
Like what is the least delicious doughnut in the box
I don't think you know what an oxymoron is.
I think everyone’s list will vary due to the overall length of their career. There is a ton of material, so I think it will depend on not only the listener’s age, but when they were first introduced to the band.
I agree with you. Being older and attending my first concert prior to them having an album out and the type of music I love from that period really shows through on my list. Permanent Waves nearly killed me as a fan, Moving Pictures brought me back and Signals killed it.
Rush and Max Webster are the two bands I have seen the most in my life. Seen each dozens of times but never since attending the Permanent Waves concert prior to it being released.
Almost turned the video off when Hold Your Fire was 19. Haha
Its almost unanimously considered their least awesome album
Michael Hampton disagree .. and I speak for a few Rush fans
@@koss41 just a few indeed...:) to each their own. What would you place last?
I’m a pretty big fan of Rush’s synth phase, I think everything but Thia Shan and High Water are great songs. My personally number 19 would either be Roll the Bones or Vapor Trails. Vapor Trails is a sonic mess and songs like Freeze and Stars Shine Down don’t make up for it. Roll the Bones is just out of place in 1991, Dreamliner is an amazing song but most of the other tunes don’t do it for me.
Michael Hampton probably test for echo or vapour trails. Hold your fire has a more passionate sound to me
Dude, "Cut to the chase" off Counterparts is killer. You didn't even mention that tune.
Sorry , Caress Of Steel & Grace Under Pressure are two of Rush's best albums . . .
747panos COS no .. GUP yes
@@koss41 To appreciate COS , one must listen to it several times . Especially the longer suites . .
@@747panos Ive listened to COS 100 times, I rank it about #12....wait, checked my list, its #10
@@Hamptainment OK , i suppose it's a matter of taste , for me it's one of their best
"Hold Your Fire" gets a bonus point for Aimee Mann. Does anyone know the back story on her involvement in "Time Stand Still"? Always wondered if it was one of those "she was in the next studio and we needed a backing vocal" stories. She even made it into the music video.
Great video! Agree that Rush don't really have a truly bad album. Although I guess I'm an outlier and I rank Caress of Steel very highly. I love that album.
I agree. Hemispheres is my favorite Rush album. I don’t think their musicianship was ever sharper or more impressive. Insanely well written album. And the secret weapon for me throughout is the bass. It is unreal from start to finish.
Lost my mind on Grace Under Pressure at #14
Killmetal - Me too. It’s #1 in my book.
You’re both Wrong. Grace has very good material but the production quality was awful, Neil’s drums sounded dead screechy guitars and siblings in the vocals make this recording difficult to listen to. Snakes and arrows lives has a few tracks off this record that sound much better than the studio as the production is higher quality on this live record.
I have it at #17. Horrible flow, loads of filler, the sound is a mess.
@@fendergibs9098 There's a couple of releases of G/P, one of them was not particularly good. I believe the currently available CD release is equal to the original.
Out of the albums I've listened to from Rush so far, Signals is probably my favourite and the one I've replayed the most.
I freaking adore Hold your fire! How could you put it on the 19th place? :D
Solid video and album ranking. I do have a couple issues on how you ranked some albums to their spots but overall I thought it was a pretty fair list. I won't get into the nitty gritty on what I really think of your list because everyone has their own varying tastes for a band's entire history. You like what you like. Been a Rush fan for years and everything they've put out brings me a bundle of joy (even some of the bad albums there's a gem or two).
--
Here's my ranking of Rush albums best to worst:
Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Power Windows
A Farewell To Kings
Hemispheres
Grace Under Pressure
Clockwork Angels
Snakes & Arrows
2112
Feedback EP
Fly By Night
Rush
Signals
Hold Your Fire
Roll The Bones
Counterparts
Presto
Caress Of Steel
Vapor Trails
Test For Echo
You've got to listen to side 2 of Caress of Steel more to get it. Caress of Steel is one of their 2 best albums.
Mr. Mike I agree. Not only is COS one of their very best albums, it's one of my favorite albums from any band.
Stopped watching as soon as I saw Caress at 17
I got into Rush in 1978 when I first heard 2112 and been hooked ever since. Agree pretty much with your order with a few minor differences - I'd put Signals at 3 as the live tracks from his album are so powerful and it brings back some fond memories. I saw them live for the first time with their Hemispheres tour, then in 80 or 81 at Bingley Hall in Stafford, UK which is an agricultural show arena - one big cowshed really. There must have been 7,000 inside (about 2,000 more than it could handle). Anyway, they kicked off with 2112 and literally nearly brought the roof down with the flash bombs at the end. Ah the memories... there'll never be another band like Rush.
Don't take this the wrong way mate, but I don't think you understand their albums or songs at all; I would recommend reading some of the lyrics to fully appreciate them before rushing to judge them in this fairly shallow way... For example saying you don't like Power WIndows because it sounds like 80's cheese.... It was recorded in the 80's... what else is it going to sound like; if you compared it to pop/rock music at the time, you would realise it was actually a very sophisticated album, musically and thematically. Each song deals with a different type of 'Power'. In addition, although it had the veneer of 80's production the music is technically impeccable, whilst still rocking, oh and the things the songs are about are still relevant today.... Okay that's one of their albums that you dismissed as being 'cheesy'... Personally I think ranking 'Albums' is rather redundant really as we all have different tastes and moods; but I would strongly recommend you dig a little deeper before dismissing so many of their albums. "So much style without substance, So much stuff without style, It's hard to recognize the real thing, It comes along once in a while, Like a rare and precious metal beneath a ton of rock, It takes some time and trouble to separate from the stock, You sometimes have to listen to a lot of useless talk...' - Grand Designs - Power Windows, :)
Was a little miffed with his dismisal of Power Windows for being 'cheese'. Ranks very high for me.
Like your quote.
Agreed with what you said about Power Windows. While it is undeniably 80s, the music and lyrics were far more complex and sophisticated than most 80s music at the time (specifically the pop side of things). The album actually reminds me a lot of A-Ha with it being 80s pop but with more complex arrangements and introspective lyrics if you get what i mean.
Perhaps it's party because this is when I discovered the band, but I'd put Power WIndows at the top of my list. It's an amazing album from start to finish. Not only are there no weak tracks, but there are no mediocre tracks either. Every song on this album is at least very good (Grand Designs, Emotion Detector), with a number of true classics (Big Money, Mystic Rhythms, Marathon).
Good response Larry! I agree, sometimes I can listen to one album of theirs multiple times, at other times it's not what I want to feed my mind. Though I've equally come to his defence for balance, for the openly hostile personal attack someone else made here (unlike yours), which was unnecessary. Good to see a much better and well thought out response, using some of their lyrics to support the point. Nice one.
People forget how popular synth was in the 80s. You were considered a dinosaur without it. Rush's problem was that they endured long enough to see several styles go out of fashion.
Rush doesn't have a worst album.
Agreed, they're all crammed up towards the darned good end of the musical spectrum.
Yes they have. Signals is almost impossible task to be listen wholly.
@@penttinikula7099 That's what most people would call "an unpopular opinion"
@@penttinikula7099 are you out of your mind? it's my fav Rush album
@@penttinikula7099 Signals is excellent.
Been a Rush fan since 1986. My personal Best to Worst list (judging the album as a whole):
Moving Pictures
Hemispheres
A Farewell to Kings
Permanent Waves
Signals
Power Windows
2112
Grace Under Pressure
Fly By Night
Clockwork Angels
Hold Your Fire
Counterparts
Snakes and Arrows
Roll the Bones
Caress of Steel
Rush
Presto
Vapor Trails
Test for Echo
My favorite album is Permanent waves. I just love the songs Natural Science and Jacob's ladder
The clouds prepare for battle...
@@Torgo1969 .. in the dark and brooding silence
@@Tom-qj9oi Bruised and sullen storm clouds..
@@EzioMonty117 Have the light of day obscured
Looming low and ominous
In twilight premature
Thunderheads are rumbling
In a DISTANT OVERTURE!
I'm a new listener to Rush (only 35 years young, listening for 2 years now). I'm surprised that Caress of Steel did badly in its day. I feel it would be a great album to introduce any good rock fan to Rush. Because the songs remind me of other bands - ACDC, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and of course, Rush themselves. There's something for everyone in that album, making the music juicy and delicious - you can eat it up. It will inspire you to listen to the long epics and research the band and their music a lot more.
I love all of them. COUNTERPARTS its my favourite
It's one of my favourites as well. It brought back life into the band.
Counterparts my personal favorite too
Hi Notes Review. Like your work. Tip: Put a copy of the album you’re talking about on the shelf behind you.
I'm gonna drop my order here, BEFORE watching this video. And yeah, it's likely gonna be different -- quite different -- from this list. But hey, that's the nature of great music, and lists in general! I'm gonna leave out the covers album, 'Feedback,' by the way.
1. Power Windows (1985)
2. Hemispheres (1978)
3. Moving Pictures (1981)
4. Permanent Waves (1980)
5. Grace Under Pressure (1984)
6. Fly By Night (1975)
7. A Farewell To Kings (1977)
8. 2112 (1976)
9. Signals (1982)
10. Clockwork Angels (2012)
11. Rush (1974)
12. Counterparts (1993)
13. Presto (1989)
14. Hold Your Fire (1987)
15. Snakes & Arrows (2007)
16. Roll The Bones (1991)
17. Vapor Trails (2002)*
18. Caress Of Steel (1975)
19. Test For Echo (1996)
*The 2013 remix is now, for me, the definitive version, and the version I took into account when making this list
And now, AFTER watching the video, it just reinforces my belief that Rush is truly one of the greatest bands of all time!
Your top 4 are my favs
Power Windows is amazing.
@@joeydanielski962 it sure is that damn Middletown Dreams is my favorite on that album.
Why hate on Test For Echo? It sounds exactly like a combination between Snakes and Arrows and Counterparts with a slightly upbeat tone. Their best 90s work by far.
@@yarlodek5842 Yeah...I didn't make my original post very clear. Absolutely NO hate at all from me for TFE. Rush is my second favorite band, all-time, second only to Pink Floyd -- and I truly love their entire catalog. So, think of the albums in the last part of my list not as "Fs," but as "strong Bs." And TFE certainly has a very special place in my heart, for personal reasons. Let's just say that it was released at a very interesting time in my life, and I'll always associate that particular album with those years -- every time I hear anything from it, it brings back 1996-1997 very clearly!
Thanks. A Rush fan and it is interesting that on any particular day my preferences might change. A Farewell to Kings and Moving Pictures are always close to the top. Thanks for taking the time and doing the video.
Rush is my favorite band, so I'm interested in this, and I was one of those who asked for it, so..... OK. This is a video of your opinions, I get it. That said, there are certain things in here where I thought, "What the hell are you talking about?!" (i.e. Side 2 of 2112, Side 2 of Moving Pictures, Losing It from Signals is one of the most poignant songs I've ever heard). Your top 5 is exactly the same as my top 5, just in a little different order, and it's really hard to put them in any order at all. If I had to do a top ten, it would be something like:
10) Clockwork Angels
9) Counterparts (I might have put Presto here but I think the production on Presto sucks monkey butt)
8) Fly By Night
7) Grace Under Pressure (I think there is more great guitar work on this than you give credit for, I've always heard a Police influence on this album, I think)
6) Signals (Analog Kid, Digital Man, the Weapon, Losing It... all great songs)
5) A Farewell to Kings
4) 2112 (Side 2 is great... or at least all the partying I did listening to it was. Funny, I remember the songs like a soundtrack but can't remember the events... ah the 70s/80s)
3) Permanent Waves
2) Moving Pictures
1) Hemispheres
Thank you for doing these videos, they are a lot of fun. Keep it up, maybe try King Crimson sometime!
I love the transitional nature of Fly By Night, because it was like they were trying to hang onto hard rock but moving onto prog rock, so it was the best of both worlds for me.
wind and wuthering , genesis on the left.. an amazing album..
My god I loved Signals.. my first time I ever heard Rush..
The Fountain of Lamneth is a masterpiece, so disagree on that one.
I’m just getting into rush. Which albums should I listen to?
I knew I should have skipped this vídeo - two albums and I'm already angry. :D
.......
So, finished the list. Still a fun watch though some of your justifications irked me a bit (what? someone is angry on the internet? Unheard of! :D), but it just confirms what is great about Rush - they absolutely have something for everyone, no matter what your preferences are. For me, I was a huge fan of their seventies material (I mean, I still am), but as the years passed I came to appreciate them more for their progressiveness rather than their "proggyness", hence why I now generally prefer the albums between 79 and 84. Lyrically I highly disagree with you calling their 80's stuff "cheesy" (the 70's definitely take that crown for me :D) - I find their lyrics from Permanent Waves on some of the best in rock music history, and I'm usually not a lyrics guy at all. Otherwise, well done!
So, for reference, here is my preference (no mystery, going from favourite to least favourite):
1 Signals
2 Grace Under Pressure
3 Moving Pictures
4 A Farewell to Kings
5 Permanent Waves
6 Hemispheres
7 2112
8 Fly by Night
9 Power Windows
10 Clockwork Angels
11 Caress of Steel
12 Counterparts
13 Hold Your Fire
14 Snakes & Arrows
15 Presto
16 Roll the Bones
17 Rush
18 Test for Echo
19 Vapor Trails
Same here! haha
I've been a RUSH fan since 1974. Maybe it's because I was rather young when I first started listening to them, or maybe it's because I try to be very open minded, but I have found that I like all of the band's recordings for one reason or another. All told, an amazing musical journey that illustrates the changes those three guys went through.